Harvard Professor Says AI Users Are Losing Cognitive Abilities

"Recently, I noticed that some people around me are starting to lose their cognitive abilities as a result of excessive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. This phenomenon resembles muscle loss from excessive use of public transportation as a substitute for walking. In academia, the only reliable way of testing the cognitive abilities of students right now is by placing them in a Faraday cage."

"As one 2025 study by Swiss researcher Michael Gerlich found, frequent use of AI tools can cause critical thinking abilities to atrophy, resulting in a "cognitive cost" among human users. As the number of AI users ticks up, the long-term risks of systemic intellectual debt only become more apparent."

"As recent research by the Pew Research Center found, a massive number of school-aged teens are using AI to do their homework, with heavy use concentrated among minority and low-income students."

Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb warns that excessive use of AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini is causing cognitive decline among users, comparing it to muscle loss from avoiding physical activity. Recent research, including a 2025 study by Swiss researcher Michael Gerlich, confirms that frequent AI tool use diminishes critical thinking abilities and creates a "cognitive cost" for users. The Pew Research Center found that school-aged teens increasingly use AI for homework, with heavy concentration among minority and low-income students. This widespread dependency on AI systems poses risks of systemic intellectual debt and societal cognitive impairment, prompting concerns from educators and researchers about long-term consequences.

Read at Futurism